Reminiscing
I’ve been thinking about childhood friends a lot recently.
I’m sure some of it has to do with Aiden’s first day of school today. There are other reasons, too. Last night, I watched part of the baseball All Star Game (stupid National League choked!). It was the first time I had watched the game since 1989 when Bo Jackson hit a lead-off home run for the American League. I remember that one quite clearly because it was the last time I really spent the night at my friend Aaron’s house. We were good friends all through elementary school, but his family moved to a different school district sometime during our middle school years. I tried to keep in touch with Aaron and his twin brother, Matt – they were both equally my “best friends” – but we just didn’t stay in touch all that often after they moved away. Every time the All Star Game is played, I think of Aaron and wonder how he’s doing. I’ve talked to Matt recently, and it has been good to reconnect with him. I’d like to talk to Aaron sometime, though, and see how he’s doing.
On top of the All Star Game, I also got an email through my Myspace account from a friend I hadn’t seen in 20 years! Talk about a blast from the past! He and his brother were basically the only other boys in our small church. My brother and I played with them all the time! I was very sad when they moved away and I’ve always wondered what they’ve been up to. I’m looking forward to hearing more about what’s been going on with them.
Reconnecting with old friends from Evansville makes me ache to return. Not just because I want to go back to my “homeland,” but because I know there is still a lot of work that can (and needs to) be done in reaching the community with the gospel of Christ. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are many established churches that are doing amazing things in reaching certain parts of the community (Crossroads, First Christian Newburgh, CFC, Bethel Temple, etc.), but the West Side still needs to be impacted in a more powerful way. There need to be more churches for those who have been burned by/bored with/confused about/grew up outside of the church. This is especially true in the USI area. Students are making life-changing decisions and establishing lifelong habits during their college years and many churches are not doing enough to help them make godly decisions that will change their lives. We need to get better and more intentional at reaching the age group that most churches tend to forget about because they’re not the biggest financial contributors (sorry – the cynic in me is coming out just a little bit). There’s a lot of work left to be done, and I’m excited to see it begin!
I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Man, I miss my childhood friends.
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